03
February 2009 - Iceland — Killing whales
to save the economy? It sounds like a terrible
idea. Last week, the Icelandic government
resigned, following widespread protests
over its handling of the financial crisis.
On his way out the door, outgoing Fisheries
Minister Einar Gudfinnsson suddenly announced
a massive increase in Iceland's whaling
quota - up to an annual quota of 100 minke
whales and 150 fin whales.
This bizarre move caused
uproar in Iceland and around the world -
at home, the tourism and whale watching
industries joined members of the new interim
government in condemning the quota increase.
Mr Gudfinnsson had clearly bowed to recent
pressure and claims from Icelandic whalers
that whaling could help to pull the country's
finances out the doldrums. But why did he
do it when going out of office?
Shameless stunt
"The outgoing Icelandic
government's whaling quota increase is a
shameless stunt that has nothing to do with
use of natural resources, and everything
to do with politics," said Greenpeace
International Whales Campaign coordinator
Sara Holden. "Greenpeace joins the
Icelandic tourism industry in urging that
the new interim government reverses the
quota increase and instead focuses on real
solutions that promote the beauty of Iceland's
environment - such as tourism and whale
watching."
This new pressure from
the whaling industry started on 9 January,
when Icelandic newspapers Frettabladid and
Morgunbladid ran a large advertisement headlined
'Let's resume whaling'. The advertisement
argued that Iceland could dig itself out
of its current financial woes through the
hunting of whales. A few news stories followed,
with members of the whaling lobby quoting
claims of an open market for whale meat
in Japan, and good prices being paid, following
the recent export of whale meat from Iceland
and Norway to Japan. The whaling lobby claims
both significant export income and jobs
would be created.
Plain facts
These claims and assumptions
are clearly incorrect, so Greenpeace International
Executive Director Gerd Leipold has now
written to members of Iceland's new interim
government - Prime Minister Jóhanna
Sigurðardóttir, and the Ministers
Steingrímur J. Sigfússon (finance,
fisheries and agriculture), Össur Skarphéðinsson
(foreign affairs, industry, energy and tourism)
and Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir
(environment) - detailing in plain facts
what exactly is wrong with the idea of increasing
whaling activity and to suggest that there's
another, much better way for whales to help
the Icelandic economy.
Gerd's letter contains
some incontrovertible facts:
The market for whale
meat in Japan is weak, with over 3,000 tonnes
of minke whale meat currently in frozen
storage. The amount increases and decreases
during the year but has not dropped below
2300 tonnes for five years. One of Japan's
leading newspapers, Asahi Shimbun, reported
on 13 November last year that Japan's 'research'
operation in the Antarctic was cutting its
planned take from 935 minkes to 700 because
of the low demand.
The minke meat imported
from Norway, which accompanied the exported
Icelandic fin whale meat, as of January
2009 has still not cleared customs. Part
of the fin whale shipment remains unsold,
seven months after it was air-freighted
to Japan.
As well as minke whales,
Japan produces meat from Sei whales caught
in the North Pacific and from fin whales
caught in the Antarctic. The catch of Sei
whales in 2008 was 50, and much of the meat
remains unsold. The quota of fin whales
for this year's hunt in the Antarctic is
50.
Most whales caught by
Japan in the North Pacific and all whales
caught in the Antarctic are processed on
board one factory ship, the Nisshin Maru.
The company which operates the factory ship
is in charge of marketing all whale meat
from these operations and so controls the
market. This company will not welcome competition
from Iceland or Norway given that the market
is already saturated and produce is hard
to sell. The whaling company's first priority
is to sell its own product - it is clearly
unable to do so, as the backlog and the
scaling back of this year's catch demonstrate.
Whale imports are considered
by the Japanese authorities on a case-by-case
basis. Although one shipment from Iceland
has been authorised this does not mean that
future shipments will be accepted.
Whale watching, not whaling
Whaling does not and
will not benefit Iceland or the Icelandic
economy. In fact, whaling has a negative
affect on the Iceland brand and the general
credibility of Iceland's image as a responsible
country that upholds sustainable management
of natural resources.
Gerd's letter urged
the Icelandic government to keep two points
in mind:
Even a small increase
in tourists going to Iceland for whale watching
will create and secure more jobs and more
money than whaling. Last year about 115,000
people went whale watching in Iceland. Over
20 per cent of these stated whale watching
as an important reason for coming to Iceland,
spending millions of US dollars in revenue
in the process. A further 115,000 people
have signed a pledge stating that they will
consider visiting Iceland if Iceland stops
whaling.
Tourism in general and
whale watching in particular promote the
beauty of Iceland's environment, and are
worth far more to the Icelandic economy
than whaling is or ever can be. The image
of Iceland as an industrial whaling nation,
in the business of catching whales and shipping
them around the world for consumption as
luxury goods, will certainly not help promote
tourism or Iceland's image internationally.
